We have heard the argument played out over and over this past few days, does the Republican party open itself up to charges of hypocrisy by their actions? These question came into focus when yet another cultural conservatives actions, the bathroom antics of Iowa Idaho Senator Larry Craig, came to light. That story has dominated the news like only a sex scandal can. Sadly however, a much graver example is playing itself out in Iraq that is unlikely to receive the same focus from the main stream media.

Forget for a moment that FreedomsWatch.org is a just another front for the pro neo-con group Vets for Freedom. Forget that they are using the old standby of fear, transposing an image of the 9/11 attack over the words “They attacked us” in a shameless attempt to link 9/11 with Iraq yet again. It is the last sentence that has the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention.

The sheets of paper seemed to be everywhere the lawmakers went in the Green Zone, distributed to Iraqi officials, U.S. officials and uniformed military of no particular rank. So when Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) asked a soldier last weekend just what he was holding, the congressman was taken aback to find out.In the soldier’s hand was a thumbnail biography, distributed before each of the congressmen’s meetings in Baghdad, which let meeting participants such as that soldier know where each of the lawmakers stands on the war. “Moran on Iraq policy,” read one section, going on to cite some the congressman’s most incendiary statements, such as, “This has been the worst foreign policy fiasco in American history.”

Interesting huh? Someone is passing out Oppo intel on Democratic congressmen to US soldiers in Iraq tasked with their safety.

If that is not playing politics I don’t know what is.

It was the bio sheets that seemed to annoy the members of Congress the most. Just who assembled them is not clear. E-mails to U.S. Central Command’s public affairs office in Baghdad this week went unanswered.”I had never seen that in the past. That’s new,” said Porter, who was on his fourth trip to Iraq. “Now I want to see what they’re saying about me,” he added, when he learned of the contents of his travel companions’ rap sheets.

For one, the quotations appeared to be selected to divide the visitors into those who are with the war effort and those who are against. For another, they were not exactly accurate. Under “latest Iraq vote,” Tauscher’s bio noted that she had voted in favor of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq within 120 days of the bill’s enactment.

I have a sneaking suspicion that if the Washington Post wants to do some research they may very well find that these guys have at least something to do with these “rap sheets.” Not only is this the height of hypocrisy, it also puts the lives of US Congressman in danger by potentially rousing the ire of the soldiers on the ground entrusted with their safety.